Folding machine



June 26, 1923.

M. O. REHFUSS FOLDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 5 1918 5 Sheets-Sheet l June26, 1923. 1.460.273

M. '0. IREHFUSS FOLDING MACHINE Filed Sent. 5. 1918 5 Sheets-Sheet 2June 26, 1923.

M. O* REHFUSS FOLDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 5. 1918 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jun@26, H923.

1.460.273 M. o. REHFUss FOLDING MACHINE Filed Sent. 5. 1918 5Sheets-Sheet 4 M. O. REHFUSS FOLDING MACHINE `lune 26, 1923. AZYSQ FiledSent. 5. 1918 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented June 26, 1923.

I UNITED STATES PATENT oi-fFICIE..l .I

MARTIN o. nEPIPUss, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIGNoE ro JorINWANA- MAKER PHILADELPHIA, or' PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATIONor PENNSYLVANIA.

FOLDING MACHINE.

\ Application led September 5, 1918. Serial No. 252,747.

To all 'wiz/0m t may concern.'

Be it known that I, MARTIN O. REHrUss,

a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,have invented Folding Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

One object of this invention is to provide a convenient form of machinewhich may be of portable size, for twice folding one or a number ofsuperposed sheets of paper such as bills, preparatory to their insertionin envelopes for mailing ;-the construction being simple andsubstantial, as well as inexpensive to manufacture and operate. j

I further desire to provide a novel form of folding `machine capable ofbeing put in operation at will, which in addition :to possessing theabove noted characteristics, shall include a novel combination ofsheetholder and primary folding blade together with simple and efficientmechanism for actuating the latter.

It is also desired `to provide a simple and compact mechanism foractuating two blades operative in planes at right angles to each otherto cause them to successively act on one or a number of sheets to forcethese between folding rolls and thereafter place thek folded sheetsparallel with each other 1n a receiving trough.

These objects and other advantageous endsrl attain as hereinafter setforth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 isa front elevation of a folding machine constructed according tomy invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2, Fig; 1;

Fig. 3 is `a sectional plan of the machine;

F ig. 4 is a rear elevation of the machine;

Fig. 5 isa perspective View 0f one ofthe folding blades and itsassoci-ated actuating lever; Land i I Figs. 6 to y9 linclusive arediagrammatic perspective views, illustrating the operation of mymachine.

In the above drawings, 1 represents a base on which is mounted a casing2 usually of metal and open at the back, its front 3 havinga-transversely extending slot or open ing 4 whose upper and lower edgesare curved slightly inward. Extending into the casing from the back is atray or trough 5 supported horizontally by brackets 6 a short distanceabove the 'base 1.

l/Vithin the casing, immediately yto Athe rear of the slot 4, are a pairof nip or folding rolls? and 8 carried onspindles 9 and 10 supported insuitable bearings mounted on the sides of thecasing and havingrespectively fixed to them coacting gear wheels l1 and 12. The latter ofthese meshes with a larger gear wheel 13 loose on a third shaft 14 alsoextending across the casing yandhaving fixed to it a cam 16. A normallyopen clutch 15 makes possible the driving of said shaft 14 and cam 16.

1 :Immediately to the rearl of the roll 7 are two other yfolding rolls17 Vand 18 respectivelyfixed to shafts 19 and 2O to which are also.fixed a pair of coacting gears 21 and 22. Both of these with the gear11 are driven from an intermediate gear 23 mounted on .a shaft 24 whichextends outside of the casing and is actuated from any suitable sourceof power such as yan electric motor. It will be noted that the upperroll 8 and the rearmost roll 18 are carried in slidable bearings mountedin guides `25 and V26 pressed` toward their cooperating rolls 7 and 17bysprings 27and 28 respectively.

For supporting one orl any number of sheets to befolded, ready fordelivery to the primary folding rollsf and 8, I provide a holderconsisting of a pair of vertical guides 29 with a bottom plate 30mounted on the `outer face of the front 3 of thecasing and so arrangesaid guides that they extend over the opposite ends of the slot 4 bothabove and below it. In the casing, on one of `the sides thereof, lprovide a horizontal guideway 31 for a reciprocable bar 32, .one ofwhose ends projects through and beyond vthe front 3 and carries afolding blade `33 of substantially wedge-Shaped section which extendssubstantially parallel tothe slot 4 and is capable of moving into thesame through suitable openings inlthe guides 129 and in the front3;-fthe line of contact of the two rolls 7 and 8 lying subcable bar 35carrying a second folding blade 36 which operates in a vertical planeincluding the line of contact of the second ,pa-i1' 0f folding .rolls l?and 18.

For actuating the bar 32 I provide a bell crank lever pivotally mountedon a rod 39 and having one of its arms 38 forked to engage a nin 40projecting laterally from the bar 32, while its second arm 41 has alateral projection such as a pin or roller operative within the grooveof the cam 16. Also op-` erative within this groove is a second rolleror pin projecting from the bar 35 whose lower end is connected through alink 42 with an arm 43 fixed to a shaft 44 extending transverselyacrossthe lower part of the casing and journaled in bearings carried bythe sides thereof. This shaft carries a pair of upwardly proiecting arms45 extending through and operative in slots formed yin the bottom of the`trough 5 and connected by a blade 46 closely fitting in said trough soas to serve as a feeder or pusher whenv said vshaft 44'is oscillated.

-The rod 39 loosely carries a second bell cranklever having one arm 47pivoted to an arm of second lever which projects through a vertical slotin the front 3 of the casing.l Asecond arm 48 of the bell crank lever isoperatively associated with a clutch 15 on the shaft 14 whereby when theprojecting end of the lever 60 is pressed down, the cam 16 isoperatively coupled to said shaft. A spring 49 normally holds theprojecting end of the lever 60 in a lowered position and maintains theclutch 15 in such condition thatv power is not transmitted to the cam16. 1f however,the arm 47'be pressed downwardly against the action ofthe spring 49, the clutch is `operated to connect said cam withth'eshaft 14 and if said `arm 47 be released, vthe clutch automaticallyoperates to disconnect said cam' land shaft after the former has madeone revolution.

z-Under conditions of use the shaft 24 is 'continuously vdriven and withit the two vpairs kof folding rolls-and the shaft 14. A number ofsuperposed bills to be folded may beplaced upright within the guides 29so as to be supported by the bottom 30 parallel with and vimmediatelyadjacent the front 3 of the casing and if the clutch operating arm 47 bepushed down, the cam 16 is turned in 'l the `direction''ofthei arrow,FigrQ. As a result-fit at once acts on the arms 41 and 38 toamove thelbar'32 and folding blade' 33 i11- wardly,V causing this latter to"engage the package' of bills or other sheets ae at about their middleline, as indicated in Fig. 7, and force them toward the primary foldingrolls that shortly after the once-.fold bills have been moved to theposition indicated in Fig. 8, the bar 35 with the second folding blade36 is moved down so that it engages the bills in what is nowsubstantially their middle line and forces them between the secondaryfolding rolls 17 and 18, as indicated in Fig. 9. T his downward movementof the bar v35, through thelink42 and arm 43', moves the pusher plate 46toward the front of the casing, so that the twice folded package ofbills is delivered into the trough to the rear of said plate, whereuponthe rising of the bar 35 yin its guideway 34 under the action of the cam16, returns the pusher plate to the po- 'sition shown in Fig. 2 andpushes the package offolded vbills toward the rear of the trough 5.Owing to the automatic action of the clutch 15, the camv 16 is nowoperatively disconnected from the shaft 14 so that i the folding bladesremain at rest and a second package of bills or sheets to be folded may.now be placed in the guide 29, after which-the downward movement of thecontrolling arm 47 causes the machine to operate through a second cyclesimilar to that above described.

From the above description it willv be noted that my machine willquickly and neatly fold successive packages or bodies of superposedysheets along two parallel lines and thereafter place them in the 'troughready for removal by hand.

I. claim: i y j The combination in a folding machine of a casing havingin its front wall a transverse slot; a substantially vertical'guidewayon the front wall of the casing for supporting a sheet so that itextends across said slot; 'a' folding blade movable through'the plane ofthe guideway into the slot; a pair of folding rolls mounted in thecasing one above the other in position to receive a sheet forced throughthe slot bythe blade; a second pair of folding rolls parallel with thefirst rolls; a second folding blade movable across the planel ofmovement of a sheet folded by the first rolls; and means for actuatingthe rolls and the blades. i

whereof I afiix my signature.

